1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cabinets and drawer guide assemblys for movable drawers which are shop manufactured and subsequently installed in homes, offices or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art and Objectives of the Invention
In the past cabinets for kitchens, offices and otherwise having movable drawers were built and installed by carpenters on site. Later, as production techniques improved, cabinets were partially built in shops and plants for transportation to the job site where they were completed, adjusted, installed and finished. Such manufactured cabinets have proved very successful and economically suitable for the construction trade in recent years. However, manufactured cabinets are often criticized by master carpenters since during the installation process unskilled carpenters may improperly attach the counter top or may disturb the integrity and alignment of the cabinet walls in positioning and attaching them to permanent building structures. Thus a cabinet which is perfectly "square" when it leaves the factory may be installed slightly "out of kilter". Such misaligned or poorly installed cabinets with one or two drawer guides per drawer oftentimes tend to prevent the drawer from opening and closing smoothly or the installer has to spend several hours realigning the drawer guides so the drawer will easily work. Many conventional drawer guides attach to the back and front of the cabinets and therefore if the cabinet is out of square the drawer guide is misaligned in such a manner that the drawer will not close properly giving drawer front proper alignment with the front of the cabinet.
Attempts have been made to prevent misalignment of drawer guides such as by having single center drawer guides which are of the horizontally "floating" (at the rear) type. However, until now no satisfactory solution has been found for a drawer guide assembly having dual tracks or guides which are preferred in quality manufactured cabinets that require the smoothest drawer movement.
With the disadvantages and problems associated with conventional drawer guides the present invention was conceived and one of its objectives is to provide a drawer guide assembly having dual guides or longitudinal members which are pivotally attached at the rear of the cabinet to a single transverse member.
It is still another ojbective of the present invention to provide a horizontally "floating" drawer guide assembly which is self-aligning whereby the longitudinal members maintain a parallel relationship and which can be quickly and properly installed by relatively unskilled carpenters.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a drawer guide assembly which includes a race for maintaining the transverse member in a suitable vertical position.
It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a cabinet and drawer guide assembly which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, is easy to install and which will provide long term satisfaction and ease of use by the consumer.
Other advantages and objectives of the invention will be realized for those skilled in the art as a fuller explanation of the invention is presented below.